Overview
- Trump, who announced the pause Tuesday, said Pakistan requested the move to give negotiators a short window to try to seal a deal, and he said the U.S. port blockade remains in force.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. offensive phase, Operation Epic Fury, is over, and he warned that any new attacks on ships will trigger a devastating response.
- U.S. military officials said about 22,500 mariners on more than 1,550 commercial vessels remain stranded because Iran has restricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
- Fighting has flared despite a fragile ceasefire, with the U.S. reporting strikes on Iranian small boats and UK maritime monitors logging a cargo ship hit by an unknown projectile.
- Iran’s Abbas Araghchi met China’s Wang Yi in Beijing as Washington and Gulf partners push a UN resolution telling Tehran to halt attacks, reveal any sea mines, and drop plans to charge tolls in the strait.